The CNN 100 takes a look at the top 100 House races, from now until Election Day.

Editor's Note: In the final 100 days before Election Day, CNN has been profiling one race at random each day from among the nation's top 100 House races, which we've dubbed "The CNN 100." Read the full list here. Today's featured district is:

As a Democrat representing a heavily Republican district in the heart of Georgia, Rep. Jim Marshall makes for a tempting target, especially in a midterm year when sizable GOP gains are expected. But this isn't Marshall's first time in the line of fire, and he has answered previous challenges by either narrowly edging out his opponent or winning with decisive, double-digit margins.

(CNN) - Bill Haslam, the mayor of Knoxville and considered a moderate Republican, easily won the Tennessee GOP primary for governor Thursday, the Tennessee Department of State's website reported.

With all of the state's precincts reporting Haslam had 47.5 percent of the vote as he defeated Congressman Zach Wamp and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.

Halsam, who helped fund some of his own campaign, will now face Mike McWherter, a Democratic businessman and son of a former governor. The race is to succeed Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, who is prevented by term limits from running for a third term. Political handicappers think Republicans have a good shot at winning back the governor's office.

(CNN) - A court hearing is scheduled for Friday in the case of an Army officer who has refused to deploy to Afghanistan because, in his view, President Barack Obama has not proven that he was born in the United States and is therefore ineligible to be president.

Lt. Col. Terrence Lakin is scheduled to go before a judge in Virginia to enter a plea on charges that include disobeying a lawful order and dereliction of duty.

He is a decorated Army doctor and an 18-year veteran who is now facing court martial for disobeying orders to ship out for another tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Lakin says the orders are illegal because, he claims, Obama - the commander-in-chief - has not proven he was born in this country. Lakin wants Obama to produce his birth certificate.

Rep. Maxine Waters wants her ethics trial to take place before the midterm elections.

(CNN) - California Rep. Maxine Waters is pressing the House ethics panel to set her trial date before the midterm elections in November.

"I have made a very public request to come out with the formalized charges and to set up a meeting to hear them," she said Thursday in an interview with KCRW, a public radio station in Santa Monica, California.

"Let's hope that they do it," she said.

The 10-term congresswoman is accused of violating House rules by seeking federal assistance for a bank with financial ties to her husband.

James Clapper was confirmed unanimously by the Senate Thursday night to be the nation's next intelligence chief.

Washington (CNN) - James Clapper was confirmed unanimously by the Senate Thursday night to be the nation's next intelligence chief.

Clapper, tapped by President Obama for the Director of National Intelligence job, will oversee the nation's 16 spy agencies.

He will be the fourth person in the position since it was created five years ago. He succeeds Dennis Blair, who was pressured to resign because of differences with the White House over the scope of his role and turf battles with the CIA director.

Washington (CNN) - The U.S. Senate approved $600 million in emergency funding to help secure the U.S.-Mexican border on Thursday, on the eve of the Senate's summer recess and ahead of an election season in which immigration and border security are shaping up as major issues.

The bill provides for roughly 1,500 new law enforcement agents, new unmanned aerial vehicles, new forwarding operating bases and $14 million in new communication equipment.

It represents a 10 percent increase in border security spending over 2010, said New York Sen. Charles Schumer, a bill sponsor.

The measure must be passed by the House of Representatives before it can be signed by the president and become law.

CNN: Senate approves Kagan for high court
Solicitor General Elena Kagan was easily confirmed Thursday as the next associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, completing the 50-year-old native New Yorker's climb to the peak of the American legal profession. The 63-37 vote was mostly along party lines. Five GOP senators backed Kagan, and only one Democrat - Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska - opposed her. Republican leaders offered spirited floor opposition to the nominee, but were unable to muster a prolonged delay or filibuster of the vote.